Queen Bee (Lowcountry Tales #12)(102)

“Hell, no. Not even a little bit. But it’s nice of you to ask, even if it’s after the fact.”

“I think I can help him,” she said.

I began to laugh. And laugh and laugh.

“No, you can’t help Archie MacLean! You might have some fun with him. You might be really good for his boys. But you can’t change that son of a bitch. Just have fun and don’t worry about where it’s heading.”

“You’re sure? God, I need a lawyer now, too.”

“Ask Mark. With all the business I’m sending his way, maybe we can get a family discount. You know what else?”

“What?”

“For about a hot minute I thought Suzanne was marrying Momma for this house. I wonder what’s in her asset column?”

“Cars, I know for sure. Probably some kind of a ranch. Who knows? She’ll tell us, if we ask.”

“Ask her when you go to Croghan’s.”

“You’re not coming?”

“No. I’m going to stay and see about the queen.”

“You’re a good woman, Holly Jensen. I hope Ted knows that.”

“I have definitely fallen for him. He’s such a stand-up guy.”

“Gosh. I wonder what that’s like?”

“Well, you won’t find out with Archie, that’s for sure.”

“I’ll be careful.”

“Just be good to those boys, okay?”

“I’ll have no problem with that.”

In the next hour, Leslie and Suzanne were gone to the city and I checked my hives for mites. No mites. No beetles. There was a lot to tell the bees that morning, but I had decided I’d better be very careful what I said to them. My hives, as we know, were dead serious.

I went inside and Momma was up and dressed. And wearing her hearing aids, as she had been since Suzanne arrived.

“Hi! How are you feeling?” I said. “Did you get enough rest?”

“Oh, I slept like a little lamb,” she said so sweetly, it alarmed me. “Can you believe I’m getting married?”

“Yes, because Suzanne is a living doll. Let me tell you all she told us this morning.”

“Why don’t we have a nice glass of tea and maybe some toast and discuss the wedding?”

“Let’s do!”

I put bread in the toaster and Momma poured tea.

We sat and talked and I told her every single thing Suzanne said to us and that I thought Suzanne was an angel straight from heaven, albeit no halo and wings, and dressed rather oddly.

“We told her to just be who she is. If she wants to tone it down, tone it down, but not for our sakes. She’s such a great character.”

“This island has always had its share,” Momma said. “Now, tell me about Ted.”

“Well, I think he’s just my perfect speed.”

“I’ve got a good feeling about him, unlike that nut bag next door.”

“Leslie can have him.”

“Nuts are her specialty.”

“Momma! You are so bad!”

“I know. When are you seeing him again?”

“Tonight and hopefully every night for the rest of my life.”

“Oh, Holly, my sweet girl. I’ve wanted someone like him for you for the longest time. And you know what the nicest part is?”

“Tell me.”

“I’ve got a sweet husband on the horizon, so do you, and with any luck at all, I might live long enough to hold a grandchild in my arms.”

“I think Suzanne has every intention of keeping you in this world as long as possible. And I’d love to see that day come to pass as well. Grandchildren, that is.”

“You know, when you weren’t around, I went and talked to your bees, too. I didn’t go inside the fence, of course. But I talked to them plenty.”

“You did? About what?”

“About whatever was on my mind. I spoke to them the same way as you did.”

“How do you like that? So do you think they hear us? Do they understand us?”

“What do you think?” she asked.

“I know with certainty that they do.”

“I thought that’s what you would say.”

“But they don’t act on command, you know.”

“No, they act as one. And that’s what we’re going to do from now on. This family is going to act as a family. That’s how the bees survive, and that’s how we will, too.”

“One team, one dream?”

“Are we having another Hallmark moment?”

I smiled at her smiling face and said, “We are.”

Momma had brought back the tender side of her I’d rarely witnessed in all my days. But there it was. Suzanne had appeared and vanquished the crank.

That night, after Suzanne spent at least four hours scrubbing it, our old Weber grill was put into use. Dressed in khaki shorts and a blue polo and looking like most of the men on the island, Suzanne was going to grill steaks. She still had on bracelets and earrings, but she cleaned up good. I told her so.

“You look very nice tonight,” I said.

“There’s a store called M. Dumas right near Croghan’s. They fixed me up.”

“Well, they did a good job. I think it’s a good sort of compromise you’ve got going on there.”